The U.S. Dept. of Justice has issued a subpoena requesting unknown documents from the U.S. House of Representatives for a grand jury, according to a memo the House Sergeant at Arms sent Speaker Mike Johnson, which was announced by the clerk formally on Monday.
“The House is notified that the Office of Sergeant at Arms has been served a grand jury subpoena issued by the Justice Department for documents and that the office will comply,” the clerk stated (video below). “After consulting with the Office of General Counsel, I have determined that compliance with the subpoena is consistent with the rights and privileges of the House. Signed, Sincerely, William P. McFarland, Sergeant at Arms of the House of Representatives.”
That video is going viral, with more than two million views in two hours, and some legal experts are now attempting to gather information.
MSNBC host and legal contributor Katie Phang said on social media that she has not seen the document but she’s trying “to hunt down some more info before folks start speculating.”
The speculation has already begun, with many pointing fingers at House Republicans they believe were somehow involved in the January 6, 2021 insurrection. There is currently no indication what the subpoena is related to, or how serious, if at all, it is.
Meanwhile, journalist Jamie Dupree, called “the most connected man in Washington” several years ago by Fox News’ Sean Hannity asked: “Who at DOJ is running a grand jury right now?”
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“Members of Congress, committees, staffers, and offices can be served with subpoenas during investigations,” Dupree notes, as does “Rule VIII,” a House document referenced by the clerk, which Phang pointed to as well.
Dupree also added an interesting observation:
“When the Speaker is notified of a subpoena, the name of the court is always included (example on the left). This one just says ‘a grand jury subpoena for documents issued by the U.S. Department of Justice.'”
Phang followed up with this note: “There are other divisions at DOJ that aren’t criminal and they have subpoena power too, and there are other investigations going on at DOJ that aren’t 1/6-related so I think we just need to wait and see what’s being sought in this specific subpoena.”
Watch the video below, read the social media posts above, or all at this link.
UPDATE: 5:29 PM ET –
Punchbowl News’ Jake Sherman reports the Justice Dept. “is investigating a House Democrat for allegedly misusing government money meant for personal security,” and the subpoena is related to that (previously unknown) investigation.